Disappointments and Circumstances
by Totally4Ryo
Summary: Set in the Time After Time series. Two years after their daughter is born, Jack and Ianto decide it's time to have a second child.
1. Chapter 1

**Disappointments and Circumstances  
**  
Rating: PG  
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, OCs: Future Torchwood 3 team  
Spoilers: Not really, but post TW series 2 and DW series 4  
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack and Ianto (heavy sigh), I'm pretty sure they own each other. I do know the BBC and RTD owns all things Torchwood.  
Summary: Jack and Ianto decide it's time to have a second child.  
Notes: This was written as a giftfic for teachwriteslash. She asked for a fic that takes place in the 8 year interim before the end of "Time After Time". Jack and Ianto already have a child, Stephanie, that Jack gave birth to. Now it's Ianto's turn.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE  
**  
Jack strode across the roof of the highest building Cardiff. He would be amused at the irony of the situation, if he was not so worried about Ianto. It had been a long time since he stalked the roofs. He was too busy juggling between Torchwood and a family. Jack was long used to having a partner, having had 23 years with Ianto before the day the younger man gave his life to save Cardiff. After twenty-one years of being alone, Jack should have been surprised when he quickly fell back into familiar patterns of sharing life and a home with another.

He was not surprised because it was with Ianto. His Ianto, reborn, and while in every way that he could remember was the same man he fell in love with almost 50 years ago, there were some changes. For one, Ianto was now half-human/half-alien, born in Wales as Stefan Ianto Jones. He was also much younger, coming back into Jack's life when he was 21. He had memories of both lives, which made life interesting for Jack.

The biggest difference in Ianto from the man he met all those many years ago was his half-alien side was a race where males conceived and carried children as well as the females.

After five years of enjoying their second chance at life together, Jack and Ianto sat down and decided they wanted children. It was their one regret from their first life together. Even if they adopted or went the surrogate way, it would have had been nice to have children. This second time around, Ianto was young – younger than he was the first time they met. Ianto still being Ianto, even at 21, Ianto was more mature for his age, and at times more than Jack.

Shortly after, Jack had undergone tests so Olivia could determine the best way to conceive. The Torchwood medic also started to pull up whatever she was able to find on male pregnancy. There were some races on file in the Torchwood archives, and through her contact at UNIT, managed to get more information. The most surprising source of races where males give birth was from Ianto, who offered information from his father's race, the Zaithfains.

Olivia had to find a way to counteract the properties in the rain that provided Jack with a natural contraception, and shortly after she gave him the all-clear, Jack was announcing that he was pregnant. It was not an easy pregnancy, but not a rough one either. They named their baby daughter Stephanie – after her Tad. Ianto's first name was Stefan, after his father, so his family took to calling him by his middle name – Ianto. Ianto preferred to go by his middle name, but had no objections in naming his baby daughter after him.

When Stephanie was almost two, the couple decided they wanted another child. Jack thought it would be good for her to have a sibling close to her age, so they could grow up together. Ianto offered to go through pregnancy that time. He made it clear to Jack that he wanted to be the one to carry a child this time.

Ianto admitted that he had been taking contraceptives. He had to take it every six months. He told Jack that in another month or so, he should be able to conceive. Around the time, he allowed Olivia to check him out, and she confirmed that he was ready to conceive children.

That was 10 months ago, and Ianto was still not pregnant. Jack could not blame it on lack of trying. In fact, after the last few months, Jack had to admit that he started to shudder when thinking about sex. Unlike human females, there was no peak time of the month and ovulation. But after the sixth month, Ianto started to insist on sex several times a day. Normally Jack would have had no problem with it, except Ianto was so intent on getting pregnant, something was missing from the act. Something that Jack had long ago depended on the intimacy of the act with Ianto. They never had just sex, there was always more involved. Sometimes Jack could feel their souls connecting. Jack had not felt that connection in months. It was all about, to put it bluntly, Jack filling Ianto with sperm so hopefully an egg would develop and fertilize.

Earlier that morning, Olivia announced once again, that Ianto was not pregnant. Jack was not aware of it, having been out on a run with Seleny. He had gone into the archives, looking for Ianto, only to find his partner insist on them having sex right then. It would have been far from the first time, but the night before Jack started to think about what their sex life had turned into. Having an almost 3 year old didn't make it easy to have sex as much as Ianto insisted. Jack actually pushed Ianto away, telling him later.

That was when Ianto fled the Hub. Olivia prevented Jack from going after him, telling the Captain that the other man needed some time to himself. Hours later, when Ianto did not come back, Jack left Stephanie with Seleny and Olivia, while he tracked down his missing partner using the signal from Ianto's mobile.

As he quietly approached his partner, Ianto showed no sign of realizing he was no longer alone high above the city.

He cleared his throat, and waited until Ianto turned to glance behind him. His partner stood too close to the edge of the roof, and while they had their suspicions about Ianto possibly being immortal, Jack had no intention to test the theory any time soon.

Once Ianto realized Jack was behind him, he turned away and went back to his study of the city below.

"Look Ianto. I'm sorry. It's not what it seems…." Jack started.

"Save it," Ianto stated, his voice flat. "I'm being stupid to insist on trying at this point."

Jack sighed and stepped over to the edge. Carefully he sat down, his feet dangling off over the edge. "I think we're trying too hard," he said softly.

"You're getting sick of having sex with me," Ianto said. He placed his hands on his hips, still staring down at humanity below.

"That's the problem," Jack said, looking up at Ianto. "We're just having sex. Quick shags. Screwing, fucking. Filling you with sperm." Jack shrugged. "We lost our connection along the way."

Ianto remained quiet, but his gaze went from Cardiff to Jack.

"How do we know it's you anyway?" Jack asked. "For all we know, I'm shooting 51st century blanks."

Ianto shrugged slightly. "Olivia said there's no reason why I can't. When she gave us the go ahead, she meant that there should be no reason why I can't conceive. She gave me another check-up. Nothing's changed."

"Something changed," Jack said low. He took a deep breath. "I'm willing to submit to tests just to check if it is me. But before I do, you need to know something."

"What's that?"

"I miss us, Ianto," Jack admitted. "I miss how it felt to make love to you. We lost that, and… it's just not fun anymore." Jack hung his head.

He felt movement from where Ianto stood, and suddenly Ianto was sitting next to him. The other man put his arm around Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I guess I got so focused on getting pregnant, I lost us."

"Olivia suggested it's possible we're just trying to hard. It happens."

"Bloody Jack Harkness," Ianto muttered. "It took you no time at all. Even after all that time. Just like everything." He rested his head against Jack's shoulder. "Maybe we should just give it up."

"Maybe," Jack agreed.

Ianto lifted his head and stared at Jack, frowning. "I believe the proper response should have been, 'No Ianto. I know this is important to you.' Not agreeing with me." He removed his arm from Jack's shoulders.

"I'm sorry. It's just. Maybe it is me. It's getting harder to be aroused. It's becoming a chore lately."

"That true?" Ianto asked.

"I'm sorry. Maybe if we take a break, reconnect, and then we can try again. It would be nice to have another baby on the way, but we do have Stephanie. We can wait a while."

"Take a break, huh? Yeah sure. Thanks Jack." He patted Jack on his shoulder and abruptly stood up. So fast that for a moment, Jack feared Ianto would go over the edge and go crashing down to the pavement far below. Then Ianto was stalking across the roof toward the access door.

Jack decided that he probably didn't handle it as well as he could have, and it would be wise to leave Ianto alone again for a while and give him a chance to cool down.

When Jack arrived at the Hub, he found out that Ianto had already left with Stephanie. Olivia was staring at him, her mouth set in a line.

"What?" Jack asked, not attempting to keep the defensive tone from his voice.

"You," Olivia simply said.

Suddenly Jack was being smacked on his arm. "OW!" he protested, lifting his other hand to the offended bicep. He turned his head to stare at Seleny with narrowed eyes. "What was that for?"

"For getting Ianto upset!" Seleny remarked heatedly. "What did you say to him, Jack?" She hit him again. Jack knew she was very upset with him when she just used his name. Normally, even on the field, Seleny would call him Uncle Jack.

For all intent and purposes, Gwen's daughter saw him as her uncle. From the time she was born, she had seen love between Jack and her mother, the type you would see from two siblings who loved and cared for each other. She had seen the same with Ianto and her mother, so when she had started to speak, she had quickly accepted that Jack and Ianto were uncles. She cried for days when Ianto had died, her tears no less than when she had lost her mother. When Stefan had returned to the Hub with them, and regained his memories as Ianto, Seleny found it easy to start calling the younger man Uncle Ianto. He was her uncle, she could feel it, even if he was now much younger than she was. He acted older, had the same demeanor as she remembered from her uncle, who at times could act even older than Jack, who was at least a century and a half older than his lover.

It was easy to forget Ianto was almost 28. Except whenever he was upset enough to show his vulnerability. She remembered that was the same with Ianto before he had died. And when she saw the same vulnerability in the man who came to pick up his daughter, and was reminded of his age, Seleny knew that Jack had somehow deeply hurt him. And it pissed her off.

"OW! You're worse than your mother!" Jack complained.

"And you can be a bastard sometimes," Seleny snapped back.

Olivia folded her arms, her gaze fixed on Jack. "Agreed. What did you do to him, Captain?"

"I'm glad you remember that I'm Captain around here," Jack tried to sway the discussion with his usual attempt of levity.

"Not when it comes to Ianto," Seleny stated, hitting him again.

"Ow! Dammit, stop that! It's obvious you don't know what happened, so why assume I did something wrong?" Jack demanded.

"Because of the way he looked. When we asked him if everything was okay, he shrugged his shoulders. He gave us one word replies and left with Stephanie as quickly as he could," Olivia explained.

"He looked his age," Seleny added. "He looked younger than his age, which is only when he's really upset." Her hazel brown eyes fixed on Jack in a steely stare. "When you really hurt him. Even little Stephanie felt something wrong. You can see it by the way he hugged onto him."

Jack slapped his forehead. "Oh great. So I'll even have my daughter against me when I get home."

Seleny grabbed Jack by his arm. "When you get home, you're going to make it okay. You got that, Uncle Jack?"

"Yeah. Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "What's wrong is that Ianto can't conceive yet. How do I make that alright?" he asked.

Seleny and Olivia traded concerned looks. "It isn't easy for him, Jack," Olivia offered, softening her tone. "He really wants to have a baby, you know. He loves Stephanie so much, and loves you for bringing her into your lives. And he wants to return the favor. Even though all males on his father's world are born with the ability to become pregnant, when a man offers himself to bring a child into the world, it's the ultimate expression of love to his partner. There is nothing higher to show how much someone is a part of their life and wants it to be so. So when you had Stephanie, you offered him that expression. He knows where he stands with you. How you feel about him, even over everything you've done since he came back to you. Even over all the years of affirming love you shared the first time around. He just wants to do the same to you, Jack. He may be your Ianto in so many ways, but he still has his father's culture from this lifetime as part of his make-up. Jack, he needs to do this. Especially since you already had given him Stephanie. Do you understand?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. I didn't think." He shook his head. "God, I really screwed this up."

"What did you tell him, Jack?" Seleny insisted.

Jack shrugged. "Look, you have to understand my side of things here. It isn't easy for me, watching his disappointment every week Olivia tells him he's not pregnant. From what I understand with his race, the telltale signs of pregnancy doesn't appear until the third or fourth month. Not like the rest of us humans who can start feeling things sometimes even in the third week, and if not, then sometime at the offset of the pregnancy." He gave a soft smile. "I was pretty sure I was pregnant about two weeks in, even if I waited until I thought I was about a month to confirm it."

"Which is why he comes in every week, insisting on a pregnancy test," Olivia commented.

"Correct."

"So?" Seleny pushed.

"Dammit, Seleny!" Jack blew up. "You are your mother's daughter, you know that? I told Ianto that lately sex was turning me off, that I was finding it harder to get aroused under the conditions that he insists on us having sex. Okay? Are you happy? Did you want to hear that from your uncle?"

Seleny looked stricken, but not in the way Jack expected. Olivia immediately straightened her stance and went into professional mode. "Jack, I'm sorry," Seleny said. "I think I understand where you're coming from." She gave Jack a crooked smile. "But I know you, and tact is not one of your best suits."

Olivia nodded in agreement. "And Ianto, in his emotional state, most likely took it the wrong way. Jack, you basically told Ianto you don't want to have sex with him. Bad enough coming from someone you love. But you also told him that you want to stop trying."

Jack sighed heavily again, studying the tips of his boots. "I did," he said low, remembering what he had said to Ianto on the roof. "I told him I needed a break."

"Did you explain what a break means?" Seleny insisted, but her tone was softer.

Jack shook his head. "I thought he'd understand. That we should just stop trying so hard." He ran his hand through his hair, looking at Olivia. "What I told him about sex is true. I don't want to have just sex with Ianto anymore. I want to make love to him. We don't do that anymore. We haven't in months. And I've come to rely on that. A long time ago, before I first met Ianto, that didn't matter. Sex was sex and I enjoyed with. But then I fell in love with Ianto, and I needed that connection. The type when you make love with someone who is half of your soul. He's still that to me, but I don't feel it anymore. I could be a turkey baster filled with sperm for all the intent when we get together. I just thought that if we took a step back, refrained from sex for a little while, tried to find each other again, and then start making love."

"To Ianto, that's still going to mean you're giving up on him getting pregnant. It's an insult to himself as your partner, and a huge disappointment in himself. It could ruin your relationship with him."

"Don't get me wrong. I want another child. I would love for him to give us the second child, but not now. It's not the same anymore. I need to stop feeling like a frickin' walking sperm bank before I can make love to him again," Jack confessed.

Olivia looked at her lover, her professional mask on her lovely face. "Sel, I'm going to sit Jack down and speak to him a little before we let him go and patch things up at home. I sense some patient/doctor confidence here."

"Yup," Seleny agreed. "I'll be in the workroom, seeing what else I can get Uncle Jack's wrist strap to do." She lifted Jack's hand and removed the worn brown leather strap. "I think we should see about replacing the leather sometime soon. How long have you had this?"

"Counting time underground?" Jack asked.

"Answer enough," Seleny stated. She leaned up to her tiptoes to kiss Jack on his cheek. "Give me a shout when you're leaving. And good luck, Uncle Jack."

Jack hugged his niece to him and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, sweetheart."

She pulled away and walked across the Hub to the archway leading to what she had turned into her workroom because she felt her desk was not enough for her bigger projects, and preferring to leave it for her immediate projects concerning the Rift and cases they were looking into.

Olivia put her arm around Jack's waist. "Come along, Jack. Now with your niece out of earshot, I hope you'll feel comfortable to talk freely and at more depth on what's going on."

"Sure. I'll try. I didn't want to hurt Ianto. But Livvy, I'm getting hurt too."

"I know, Jack. That's why we'll talk and see how we can turn this around. Which hopefully eventually also turn the main problem around."

"While we're at it, do you think you can give me an exam? Before I blew it, I did promise Ianto I'd get checked out and see if maybe it's me that's preventing him from getting pregnant."

"I can do that while we talk." She lead Jack through the Hub to another archway which lead to a long hallway. Near the end of the hall was the medical facilities for the living, and next to that was her office where she could offer confidential discussions without kicking Jack out of his own office.

Jack followed her, hoping in his heart that she could help him. He had a new pain other than his own. He hurt Ianto, and he could not deal with that very well.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

When Ianto got home, he settled Stephanie in the lounge, surrounded by her toys and set the telly to one of her favorite DVDs to keep her momentarily occupied. He kissed his daughter on the head and went into the kitchen to make coffee. After the day he had, however, he wished for something stronger. He sighed as he realized he had no idea what time Jack would finally get home. At least on most nights when his wayward husband would stay out late, he would come home before Stephanie went to bed, wanting to spend time with his daughter. A few nights, Jack would take Stephanie with him, saying he wanted a 'Daddy and Daughter' night with their little girl.

The bottom line was that in the last couple of months, Jack had been spending more time away from home. At first, it was reports that needed to be done, and Jack insisted that Stephanie needed to spend time away from the Hub, convincing Ianto to take her home. Jack would usually show up a couple of hours later. And it would only be a couple of days a week.

Then, Jack started showing up later and later. He'd call and say there was something he needed to do, that Weevils were interrupting citizen's peace, or some other Torchwood emergency. When Ianto would offer to go back in, Jack would insist that he should stay at home with Stephanie, saying he didn't want their daughter to have to come back for the night and he'd be home soon. The number of days it would happen had increased in the last month or so.

If Ianto didn't know Jack better, he would have started to consider that Jack was having an affair. However, when Jack finally did find his way home, none of the classic signs of someone having an affair were present. Jack was tender and loving, full of jokes as he played with their daughter before it was time for them to put her to bed.  
Then the first chance he had, Ianto would be pushing Jack into having sex, hoping that he would finally get pregnant. Looking back at it, he realized that Jack was just going through the motions, as if it was a chore he had to do. Jack was most likely glad when it was over; he would leave the room fast enough to go into his study.

Now Ianto knew what was wrong. Jack was not seeing anyone else, but he no longer wanted to have sex with him. He stayed away as much as he dared without upsetting their daughter to avoid the quickies in their room or the bathroom while the two year old was occupied watching one of her favorite DVDs, or constructing something with Legos (which was serious work for their little girl and she gave it all her attention). Once the little one was asleep, Jack would claim he still had things to do and went into their study. Being immortal, Jack did not require much sleep, so he could sit in their study, doing whatever Jack did in there night after night until he needed to finally get some sleep.

There was a spanner in Jack's plans if the older man expected to wait until Ianto fell asleep. Apparently Ianto did not require much sleep himself – another hint that whatever it was that happened on the night that he regained the memories of his previous life also left him immortal too. Shapeshifters did require sleep, especially after spending time in another form. Since their reunion, Ianto had to maintain a little shapeshifting to look like his former self, but not much. Eye color, so they were more blue than silver and to make himself look older so the Captain of Torchwood would not appear to be robbing the cradle (in one way he was, since Stefan was 21 when he met Jack, but in another he also had Ianto's almost 50 years of wisdom – Ianto felt older than his physical years of this life, but not in a bad way, and it was still relatively young in his expected lifespan because of his father's race). Overall, he did not need to do much to look like the man Jack Harkness had fallen in love with over a half of century ago, and with time, the slight changes came without thinking. It was said of his people that if they maintained one form long enough, their natural form would become whatever it was.

So Ianto did not need any additional sleep to recover from changing form, and he found he needed less sleep than that of either his mother's race or his father's. Meaning there were some nights when Jack would leave the study to find Ianto sitting in their lounge, reading a book. There was no way to avoid the inevitable on such evenings.

Ianto slammed his fist on a counter. It was no wonder he wasn't pregnant already. In the last month or so, Jack had hardly given them a chance for him to get pregnant. He felt tears well in his eyes as the thought occurred to him that Jack no longer wanted to have sex with him. Did that mean, despite how he would act when they were together, that Jack no longer loved him? Jack mentioned a break. What if he meant more than just from sex? What if Jack didn't want him any longer?

Ianto had half a mind to take Stephanie and check into a hotel for the night. Let Jack come home to an empty house and figure out what he wanted.

He felt a tug on the bottom of his shirt and looked down to find his daughter standing next to him, with one finger in her mouth and staring up at him with her big silvery blue eyes. "What is it, sweet pea? Are you hungry?" he asked.

Little Stephanie shook her head, causing her long, thick, brown hair to move across her face. "Taddy's sad," she simply said in a mournful tone. Her eyes started to glitter with tears that soon will be shed. "Do you and Daddy still love each other?"

Quickly, Ianto scooped his daughter up into his arms. The daughter Jack gave them, and by the custom of his father's people, a gift that was the ultimate expression of everlasting love between two people. Breaking of lifetime marriage contracts were not given out freely by his father's people, not like they were on this world. Stephanie reminded him of that, and he realized that as mad as he was at Jack at the moment, he had to do whatever it took so they could work things out.

He also remembered that Stephanie had not only inherited her Tad's eyes and mouth and some of his intelligence, but she was also psychic, like he was. She was also able to change form, but that would not develop for several years yet. Maybe even longer than the first time he took a different form under the careful guidance of his father at almost 8. Normal age on Zaithfa was 5, but since Ianto was half-human, the ability developed later. With Stephanie, he knew they had until perhaps she was 10, since Jack was more or less Human, born of Human parents in the future who migrated to a colony world.

Their little girl was like her Daddy – more or less human, but still had some alien in her. Once she started to realize it, they were going to have to impress upon her that it had to be their secret, known only to Torchwood.

Her psychic abilities were already developing, mostly with those she was closest to. Her daddies. And she sensed Ianto's emotions, and now his little girl was hurting.

If not because it was the way of his father's people, Ianto vowed right then that he would work things out with Jack for the sake of their baby girl. He never wanted him or Jack to be the cause of pain for her, and he knew Jack would feel the same. After all, he knew, if it was not for Stephanie, Jack probably would have found reasons to not come home at all over the last month. He only did come home to spend time with their daughter, so she would not feel like her Daddy didn't love her anymore.

He sat down, holding his daughter close and kissed her forehead. "Daddy and I still love each other, Stephanie," he tried to assure his daughter. He knew it was true for him. He still did love Jack, and that was why he was so angry and hurting. He hoped it was also true for Jack.

"Daddy made you upset," Stephanie said, looking down.

"Your Daddy and I are having a time of it right now," he replied, keeping to what he had decided with Jack back when Stephanie was still in Jack's belly. They would always be honest with their children. There would be enough subterfuge in their children's life because of Torchwood and their heritage in a world that somehow, despite everything tossed at them over the last half century or so, was still not ready to accept that Earth was not the only world with intelligent life. They decided to counter that with honesty in the home. "That happens now and then when two people love each other. But we'll be okay."

"Don't leave Daddy, please?" Stephanie looked at him with that wide-eyed innocence, eyes full of fear and hurt.

"Oh no, sweetheart. I'm not going to leave Daddy. We'll be together – Daddy, me and you. Always." He kissed his daughter's forehead again, brushing his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner.

"Good. 'Cause I love you and Daddy, Taddy." Stephanie moved to twist her little chubby arms around Ianto's neck and gave him a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"I'm glad. Because we love you too, sweet pea. So very much." He held his daughter close. And found he loved Jack that much more, because of the little girl in his arms. Stephanie must have sensed the change of his emotions, because she started to relax in his arms. When he looked at her little face again, the tears from earlier were gone. He smiled tenderly at his little girl. "It's almost dinnertime, sweet pea. Do you want to help me make something special for Daddy?"

Stephanie nodded her head vigorously. "Yep."

He stood up and settled the little girl in the chair he vacated, walking over to the fridge. "So what do you think Daddy would like?" he asked.

Stephanie shrugged. "Dunno. Daddy says everything you make he likes." She giggled.

"Your Daddy just likes food. Like you, piggy-poo." Ianto turned back to wink at his daughter, which made her giggle more. He took that as her agreeing.

With Stephanie helping, Ianto planned out a special meal for him and Jack for after Stephanie was asleep. He'd make something for her once their dinner was cooking and have her fed, so when Jack finally got home, she would be ready for bed. He'd let Jack tuck her in with a bedtime story, while he finished up with his plans for them to have a nice, intimate dinner.

Then they would talk – openly and freely, with the assurance that no one would react on hurt feelings. They'll talk through it all until they finally understood each other. That was what was missing, Ianto realized. Communication. Lately, Ianto had been putting most of his being into getting pregnant; he was starting to realize that maybe he had been forgetting about Jack's feelings. Instead of the act of creating a new life making them closer, it was tearing them apart. Ianto should have realized it sooner, but with their breakdown in communication, Ianto seemed to have also forgotten the psychic connection with Jack. They had lost that too.

It was time to get it all back.

~+~ ~+~ ~+~ ~+~ ~+~

Jack walked back to the car from the florist, carrying a huge bouquet of flowers in a ceramic vase in the shape of a coffee bag. He was worried that Ianto might get offended, think that it was too girly, but Jack could not think of another way to start his apology. That was why he was glad that a couple of pounds of a fine brand of espresso coffee came with the bouquet. Coffee and flowers. Jack hoped it was a winning combination.

He carefully set the bouquet on the passenger side, hoping that it would not tip over during the short drive home.

The result of his talk with Olivia made him see that he was on the right track to dealing with their problems, but that he had botched up his technique. He knew that he had handled things wrong for at least a couple of months. Which was why Ianto had reacted as he had on the roof, and was so raw, so hurt.

Jack had a lot of repairing to do from his own messing up of things before they could start to work together on getting their relationship back on track. The one thing Jack knew was that he could never give up on Ianto. He loved the other man too much to consider that as an option. He would do whatever it took to get them back to what they were before the fiasco of Ianto attempting to get pregnant started. Then hopefully at some point in the future, they could try things differently with better results.

The one thing he had to make sure that Ianto knew was that there would be a second child eventually and it would be Ianto to give them the child.

Olivia had checked Jack out and announced that there was no reason why they could not conceive a child, because both men were fully functional to reproduce. She had run further tests from samples she took from Ianto earlier that day and realized that eggs were not being produced. There was no physical reason why not, so she did more reading on Zaithfain male conception. After seeing first Ianto, and then Jack, she had a theory of what was wrong. She had a long talk with Jack, until she saw his own anguish over things. Ianto was not the only one hurting. The younger man had hurt the Captain time and time again over the last few months. She had assured Jack that was why he had handled things the way he did on the roof. To start to repair the damage in their relationship, Jack had to take care on how to handle the issue, and yet let Ianto know that the younger man was not alone in being hurt.

Jack took a deep breath as he carried the bouquet along the path from the driveway to the front door of their cottage. It was already dark, and he had once again missed Stephanie's dinner. He should have a little time with their daughter before it was time to put her to bed. Then her two daddies needed to sit down and have a nice long talk and get it all out in the open. Hopefully then they could start working on the rift between them.

After juggling the flowers while unlocking the door, he walked into the entryway. He could hear music playing from the lounge and Stephanie's laughter. No doubt Ianto was making her laugh.

He entered the lounge, holding the flowers and gazed at the man he loved, holding Stephanie and dancing around the room, making the little girl laugh as she grabbed onto her Tad. Jack started to smile, noticing that Ianto looked happy, truly happy as he danced with their daughter, not the forced type Jack sensed in the last week when she was not around, or the hurt he had seen on the roof.

Ianto turned and stopped once he noticed Jack standing there. "Look who's home, sweet pea," he said to the little girl, setting her down on the floor.

Stephanie ran toward Jack with her arms open. "Daddy!" she cried happily.

Jack stooped down, setting the flowers on the floor next to him, to catch the whirlwind that was his daughter. He wrapped his arms around her as her little arms went around his neck and she planted a sloppy kiss on his face. "Daddy!" she said again.

"How's my sweet pea tonight? Were you a good girl for Tad?" he asked, kissing her little pert nose.

She giggled, nodding her head. "Yep. Always."

"Of course," Jack agreed, hugging her again, glancing up to Ianto and winked. Her daddies knew that there were times Stephanie was no angel, but they loved her anyway.

"Her magnet apparently seems to be turned off tonight," Ianto informed Jack, referring to their inside joke of her having a trouble magnet, which Ianto further theorized was inherited from Jack's side. Jack saw Ianto's eyes settle on the flowers, looking at them in curiosity.

"Did you eat yet?" he asked Stephanie.

She nodded her head again. "Yep."

"You did? What did you eat?"

"Cheese sarnie an' chips."

Jack rubbed his nose against his daughter's and, with a grin, asked, "What? No veggies?"

"Oh yeah. Yep." She made a face, sticking out her tongue, which got Jack laughing.

"Mmm, Stephanie's favorite, vegetables," Ianto said, still standing in place, watching Jack and their daughter in amusement. When Jack looked up, he noticed a wistful look too, as if Ianto was once again wished for another child.

"YUCK!" Stephanie exclaimed, sticking her tongue out again.

"I know they're yucky, but did you eat them?"

"Some."

Jack sighed, giving the little girl a serious look. "Stephanie, you need to eat more vegetables, honey. You told me you were a good girl for Tad, didn't you?"

"I was," Stephanie replied. "I ate some veggies, so Taddy wouldn't be so sad."

Jack stared at his daughter, a stricken look on his face. His eyes went up to Ianto, who suddenly went into action, deciding to escape to the kitchen. Jack could see Ianto by the cooker through the window on the wall between their lounge and the kitchen. He hugged Stephanie to him. "I'm glad you were such a good girl to make Taddy happy."

"Do you still love Taddy?" Stephanie stuck her finger in her mouth and gave Jack the same mournful look she had given Ianto earlier.

Jack pulled her to him in a protective embrace. "Of course, I do, sweet pea. I love your Tad very, very much."

"Then why are you both so sad?" she asked.

""Cause… well… sweetheart, sometimes adults get sad, but when they are happy again, they'll be better for it. Taddy and I will love each other so very much more than we do already soon."

Stephanie gazed at him, her little face screwed up in slight confusion.

Jack ran his fingers through the child's hair, smiling lovingly at her. "You'll understand when you're older, sweet pea."

"If being older means making people sad, I don't wanna get it."

Jack studied his daughter and then gave her a grin. "You wanna hear a secret?"

She nodded and turned her head so her ear was close to Jack's mouth. Jack's smile grew.

"I agree with you. Being older is complicated."

She giggled as she nodded her head. When she pulled away from Jack, she looked at the flowers. "What's that, Daddy?"

"A gift for Taddy. To let him know that I still love him."

Stephanie started to smile brightly as she clapped her hands and bounced on her feet. "YAY!" She grabbed Jack's hand and tugged him to the flowers. "Hurry up, Daddy. Then Taddy won't be so sad."

It took effort for Jack to keep from frowning. He fixed a smile on his face, and managed to chuckle. "Alright, sweetheart. Why don't you play with your toys for a bit while I give these to Taddy? Then, young lady, I think it's almost bath time."

"Boo."

Jack chuckled. "If you're a good girl, Taddy and I will tell you an extra story."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay. Now give Taddy his flowers." She leaned over to peck Jack on his cheek and toddled over to her toys.

Grinning, Jack picked up the flowers and got to his feet. He found it hard to be in a bad mood after spending time with his little girl. He noticed Stephanie watch him cross the room, as she held onto her favorite doll. He winked at her and entered the kitchen.

"Ianto," he said softly.

Ianto turned around. "I was wondering what they were about?" he said, indicating the flowers.

Jack held them out. "For you. An apology. Well, the start of one anyway."

Ianto took the flowers from Jack, and smiled. "In a coffee vase?"

"Don't say I don't know you."

Ianto noticed the bags of coffee beans. "Indeed you do. That or you're telling me we're running out of our favorite blend around here. Or could it be that you love me only for my coffee?"

Jack opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, then he saw Ianto's small grin. "Ianto, we need to talk. The two of us. And soon. Because I never want to hurt you again."

Ianto seemed to be studying Jack, still holding the flowers. "I hurt you too, didn't I?"

"Well…." Jack shrugged.

"You're right. We do need to talk." He set the flowers on a counter and moved closer to Jack. With his arms going around Jack's waist, he lightly kissed his partner. "I love you, Jack. That's why this is so hard."

"I know. I love you, too."

Their mouths met for another kiss, their lips lingering. It was as if they both dared not to open their mouths to further the kiss, for fear it would only lead to a frenzied quickie while their daughter played in the next room. Jack resolved they were not going to have sex until they found their connection again. He felt hopeful that they could patch things up soon. The next time he coupled with Ianto, he wanted to make love to him, not just have another in a series of quickies.

Ianto cupped Jack's cheek. "I think I understand now, Jack. Why don't you play with Stef a bit before you give her a bath? Give me a shout when she's ready to be tucked into bed, so I can join you."

"She'd like that. I don't think we both put her to sleep in over a week." Jack sighed. "I never wanted to hurt you, and I never wanted our baby girl to suffer."

"Agreed about Stephanie. Now, go on, Jack. And let me finish our dinner."

"Okay." Jack pulled Ianto close for another kiss, lingering for a few seconds before pulling away. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Jack."

Ianto touched the flowers as he watched Jack leave the kitchen. He started smiling, knowing that what he had planned for their night was the right thing.

They still had issues to overcome, but he had hope that they would get past this. And like what Jack had told Stephanie, their relationship would be stronger than ever because of it.


	3. Chapter 3

****This is the last chapter to this story, but I will be updating more to "Time After Time Short Stories", as well as the longer stories in this verse as their own stories when I get to them.

Many, many thanks to everyone who reviewed, favored and alerts.  
I hope your question is answered in this, hpswst101. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

Jack lingered in the threshold of Stephanie's room, staring into the near darkness that was broken by the nightlight in the wall. He could make out his daughter curled up in her bed, hugging her favorite stuffed teddy bear, as she slept. He smiled tenderly, his heart once again swelling with pride and love for their daughter.

He finally turned from the room, softly closing the door behind him. He heard Ianto moving around in the other rooms. When he was finished giving Stephanie her bath, and he had her in her warm snuggly pajamas and a dry shirt for himself, Ianto joined them in Stephanie's room, where they took turns reading from a book until they noticed she had fallen asleep. Ianto got up and leaned over to kiss his daughter's forehead. He then went back to where Jack still sat, the older man wearing a fond, loving smile. Ianto grasped Jack's hands and leaned over to lightly kiss Jack's lips, asking Jack to give him a few more minutes before leaving the bedroom.

When Jack finally left the hallway and entered the lounge, he noticed Ianto standing in the dining area, next to the table. Jack started to smile more as he noticed the table set for an intimate dinner for two. The bouquet he had brought home for Ianto was placed on the table, along with their fine china with their dinner already on the plates, along with platters for seconds. A bottle of wine was also set on the table. Jack went over to Ianto, putting his arms around his partner and kissing him tenderly.

"This looks wonderful, Ianto," he stated.

"I'm glad. It's been a while since we did this." Ianto hung his head. "I guess my mind had been on other things. I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack lifted Ianto's head with two fingers under his chin. Gazing into his partner's beautiful eyes, he said, "I'm sorry too, Ianto. I'm sure there could have been a better way I could have handled it."

"Me too," Ianto agreed.

Jack's hold on Ianto got tighter and they kissed again, Ianto's arms going around Jack's neck. They parted with a gasp, catching their breath.

"I guess we should sit down and eat before it gets cold," Ianto said.

"Mm… yeah." Jack smiled at Ianto and taking his hand, guided Ianto to their seats.

They started to eat their dinner, mostly talking about Stephanie. "She's a special girl," Jack said, reaching for more meat and grinning at Ianto. "She's a lot like her Tad."

Ianto smiled at Jack as he also went for seconds. "And also like her Daddy. I look at her and can't believe how lucky we are."

"Yeah. Tell me." Jack lifted his wine glass and noticed that Ianto's face fell a little. "Ianto, please don't be upset. We just need to learn a little patience, and I'm sure we'll have another beautiful child to love."

"I can't help thinking to give up, Jack. I don't want to do that, but it's obvious that if we have a second child, it won't be me carrying him or her."

Jack put down his glass and took Ianto's hand in his. "I know what it means to you, Ianto. I understand it's the culture of your father's people. Maybe you won't ever be able to, or maybe if our next child is from me again, that doesn't mean that we won't have a third because of you." He squeezed Ianto's hand tighter, looking into his partner's eyes. "Everyone else we know have only one option for bringing children into the world. And considering we're two blokes, we should be lucky that we can have our own children through one of us. Please, Ianto, don't feel like a failure or that you let our love down because you're not pregnant yet. Stephanie is our child, Ianto. I couldn't have done it without you. If it means anything, when I found out I was having her, you couldn't have given me a better gift than creating a child with me."

"I know, Jack. I'm being silly getting so upset over it. And I shouldn't feel like a failure. Not with our little girl." He managed to give Jack a small smile. "Not with having you. But it's hard. I'm sorry. I'm causing all of us to suffer when there's no need, huh?"

Jack's smile was tender. "You have no idea what you're saying to me when you make it clear how much this means to you. I think you love me more than possible and then I realize you can love me more. And I'm thankful for it, and hope I'm returning all that love to you."

Ianto toyed with his food using his free hand, suddenly looking flustered. When he raised his eyes to Jack, they were shining. "You do, Jack. That's why this is important to me."

"Fine. I accept that." Jack took a sip of his wine. "Let's finish our dinner and take the rest of this conversation on the couch."

"You're right."

"Ianto, I do love you. And I'll never leave you. And…" Jack shook his finger at Ianto, "Don't ever think I'll love you less if you don't get pregnant. Far from the truth. What we have isn't based on that."

Ianto gave Jack a small smile. "You're right again, of course. Now finish your dinner. I have some raspberry truffle cheesecake for dessert."

Jack's grin grew. "You see that? You really do love me," he remarked.

Ianto found himself chuckling. "Yeah, I guess I do."

After dinner, they settled on the couch, the lights off, and the lounge bathed in candlelight. Jack had his arm around Ianto, holding him close. Jack inhaled, his nose buried in Ianto's hair and smiled. "I missed this," he sighed happily. "I missed just sitting here like this, enjoying the simplicity of just holding you." His eyes turned a little sad.

"What is it, Jack?" Ianto asked, sensing the change in Jack's mood.

Jack shook his head. "It's just… we lost this, Ianto. In the last few months we didn't have this. And… well, this is silly, because you were here with me, but… sometimes I would realize how much I missed doing things like this with you and it reminded me of those years when I wanted nothing more than to just be able to hold you, feel your warm body next to mine… and you weren't there. How I believed I would never again know what it was like, except in my memories."

Ianto shifted slight so he was the one who was now holding Jack. He nuzzled Jack's jaw. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I'm sorry I had to leave you, but we had no choice that day. If was either taking the chance of getting killed or having them flood Cardiff with radiation for many years to come. I hate that we had to choose the many over each other." He softly kissed Jack's lips. "To be honest, when I knew it was over for me, I really found no comfort in knowing that you would come back. Because I knew what it would be like when you did, and discovered I wasn't there with you. I knew, because that's how I would feel if it was reversed."

"I managed to go on. I even learned to laugh again, to embrace life and enjoy it. Only because you taught me how, because I knew you wouldn't want it any other way. I lived life honoring you, Ianto. And that day when you came into my life as Stefaine… I felt that same familiarity with you, but I never dared to hope that I would find the same special something again. Maybe, had you never gotten your memories back, I still might have built a life with Stefaine, and it probably would have been great, but never would have been the same as what we do have," Jack confessed. "That next morning, when the memories of your previous life came back, when you started to tell me things that only my Ianto would know…." He buried his face in Ianto's neck. His voice muffled, he finished, "I knew a miracle had happened. I had you back in my arms again." He kissed the flesh near his mouth. "And I never want to lose that again."

"Meanwhile the way I was acting made you afraid it might happen, right?" Ianto asked. "Maybe not as permanently as that first time, but it still hurt. It made you remember things you no longer have to live with."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Hold me, Ianto."

Ianto remained silent as he did as requested. After a few minutes, he broke the silence. "Talk to me, Jack. Talk to me without fear of hurting my feelings, and tell me what was on your mind that kept you away from me so much lately."

Jack lifted his head and cupped Ianto's cheek. "What I've been saying all tonight. I missed us. We hardly had any time like this anymore. We cuddled and within a few minutes, you're expecting me to pull down our trousers and fuck you." His eyes bore into Ianto's. "Yes, I use that word exactly as it sounds. To fuck. Stick it in, ejaculate, and pull out. Repeat again in a few hours." Jack shook his head. "We no longer make love. At first, I thought I didn't mind. That we would connect soon, so I should take it for what it was. That I should be thankful I still had you to do even that. But then it wasn't enough. I'm sorry, Ianto. But with all the combined years of loving you, making love with you, it's never just about the lust. Even when it's lust that's controlling us. There was always something deeper between us. It wasn't there anymore. I started to feel… used." Jack tore his eyes away from Ianto and hung his head. "Almost abused," he said so low that Ianto barely heard him.

"Oh God," Ianto muttered. He placed both his hands on Jack's face and started to plant soft butterfly kisses on the beloved face of his partner. "Jack, I'm so sorry. Damn, that's almost like rape, isn't it? I never intended to…"

"I know, Ianto. I know you didn't. Which is why it made it harder to just sit down and talk to you. So I pulled away." Jack gave a bitter laugh. "Quite a stupid thing to do when I was worried about it eventually tearing us apart. I was doing that quite well on my own, wasn't I?"

"I didn't realize. Jack, forgive me? Please."

Jack pressed his face close to Ianto. "Already forgiven. Always." He sighed as Ianto's fingertips caressed his face. "I wouldn't go as far as crying rape, because I pulled away before it got to that."

"But you still felt somewhat abused."

Jack nodded, unable to lie. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing for you to be sorry for. Oh damn, Jack. Here I was so intent on giving you, what is to me, the ultimate expression of love, and instead I ended up hurling insults and pain at you. How can you ever forgive me?"

"Because I love you, Ianto, and I understand why you were doing what you were. And please, don't start hating yourself over it. That's not going to solve our problems if you suddenly pull away because of it. Besides, Stephanie will notice. And we don't want to hurt her anymore than we've both been doing."

"No, no, Jack. You're right. We don't. She doesn't deserve to suffer because her dads can't get their heads screwed on right. And maybe this is saying that if we're doing this to one child and we need to do some damage control, maybe we're not ready to have another yet."

"I don't think we got to the point of traumatizing Stephanie for life, and now that we realize it, we'll do everything we can to make up for what we did do." Jack rested his head against Ianto's. "The best thing we can do for her – and for us – is to go back to what we were before we decided to get you pregnant." He moved his head again and shifted to take Ianto's hands in his. "That doesn't mean we're giving up. But we're going to take another approach. If and when it happens, it will. In the meantime, don't go back to your protection." He kissed Ianto again, deeply. "We're not giving up, Ianto. Not on you having a baby and not on us."

Ianto nodded, feeling tears sting his eyes. "All I can think is how terribly sorry I am."

"I know. I hurt you too, and I'm so sorry about that. I love you, Ianto. Always."

"I love you too, Jack." The tears started to spill. Jack held him close, allowing Ianto to cry it out, his own tears mingling with his partners.

Jack found an odd comfort in it. He realized they were never alone with their pain, and were proving it as they shared their tears. At some point, neither man knew who was comforting who, and it did not matter.

Jack ended up making them tea once they finally pulled away, leaving Ianto on the couch, giving his partner a chance to pull together his dignity.

When he returned to the lounge, he kept the room still in candlelight but put on music to play softly, a mixture of jazz and favorite love songs After they drank their tea, Jack pulled Ianto to his feet and they danced to a few of the songs they called theirs, including the song they danced to for both their Civil Partnership ceremonies.

As the song ended, their mouths met as they started to kiss again. Ianto's hands ran up and down Jack's back in a soothing, comforting manner. Jack welcomed it as he pressed closer to Ianto.

They ended up on the couch, but both men could not remember moving. They kissed softly, tenderly, murmuring sweet words of love between the kisses. Jack felt Ianto's hands on him again, once again soft and gentle, soothing away all the hurt still left. He felt a need to return the favor. Their clothes remained intact, hands not slipping underneath.

When Jack first arrived home earlier that evening, his intention was to put a stop to having sex for an undetermined amount of time. Knowing him, especially with there being more a lack of lately, he figured it wouldn't last more than a day or two. He did determine when they finally found themselves tumbling in their bed, it would be to make love like they would before things got crazy.

When they finally stood up at some point after midnight, their bodies still close as they continued to kiss and caress, Jack knew what he wanted once they reached their bed.

Inside their bedroom, Jack removed Ianto's shirt, and allowed Ianto to do the same to him. Fingers slid along Ianto's furry chest, lingering in areas in small circles. Ianto's hands were still working out knots in Jack's back and shoulders. Kissing again, Jack moved them toward the bed until the back of his knees hit the mattress. He allowed himself to fall backwards, taking Ianto to land on him. They continued to kiss deeply and passionately. At one point when they paused to catch their breath, feeling totally loved, Jack gazed up at Ianto, cupping his face with a gentle hand. He smiled lovingly at his partner.

"What?" Ianto asked.

"Make love to me, Ianto," Jack whispered.

"Are you sure?" Ianto asked. "I thought you wanted to…."

"I want you, Ianto. I want you to make love to me. Make more feel more loved than I'm already feeling. Please," Jack said, not begging, but with urgency still in his voice.

"Whatever you wish," Ianto replied, his mouth capturing Jack's again for another deep kiss.

Ianto continued to caress Jack, rough hands going over each angle and plane of Jack's body, causing Jack to writhe and moan and cry out, his mind flooded with relief and love. Ianto went excruciatingly slow, ignoring whenever Jack started to insist that Ianto move faster. The younger man would just chuckle and nip the flesh where his mouth currently was. When Ianto's mouth found Jack's throbbing manhood, he took Jack to the edge and then pulled him back a little, only to take him to the edge again, and then left him there. Jack nearly screamed, then found himself moaning as Ianto prepared them both for entry.

Then Jack felt Ianto enter him. Jack found himself clawing at Ianto's back, moaning loudly, telling Ianto what felt good, what he wanted more of. At times, Jack found himself unable to speak because he had Ianto's tongue probing in his mouth, caressing every millimeter of his mouth.

Suddenly Jack felt it – what he had been missing most, and had been craving. More than feeling Ianto filling his body after so long, he felt his lover fill his mind. He arched up in total pleasure, crying out. He felt Ianto's joy of his reactions in his mind. It was that which caused Jack to finally come, spilling over onto both their bellies. A second later, he felt Ianto fill him. His mind glowed brighter, filled with Ianto. Instead of gasping as he usually did right after an intense orgasm, he bubbled up with laughter, clenching Ianto close to him.

He knew then that he was never to be alone. He had not been since he was reunited with the love of his life, his soulmate, the other half of his soul. Even with a less psychic Ianto in his previous life, Jack realized there was always some mental connection between them, binding them. With Ianto now having strong psi levels, and Jack's being higher than normal, he realized that over the years since their reunion they had formed a strong link between them. Over the last few months, the link had diminished. And that was the root of Jack's problems in handling things. He knew now that he needed to feel that link. They were two halves that made a whole.

As Ianto gazed down at him in their afterglow, he could see in Ianto's eyes that his partner had come to the same conclusion. He felt it in his mind. Together, they laughed, holding the other, kissing more.

For the first time in months, they fell asleep that night in each other's arms.

They were awoken the next day by a bundle of energy bouncing up and down on the bed, going from one man to the other. Jack reached out with his arms and snagged the imp, settling her between them, careful to keep her on top of the duvet, realizing that they did not bother to throw on boxers at some point during the night. Jack leaned over and blew a raspberry on their daughter's belly, causing her to screech and giggle loudly, protesting.

"Daddy!" she cried out. She gazed over to Ianto.

Ianto chuckled. "Don't look at me for help, imp." He reached over to tickle her. She squirmed, laughing more.

The family finally settled down, Stephanie between them and awkwardly hugging both her daddies. Jack and Ianto each had an arm around their daughter, grinning madly at her. With their other arms, they reached across Stephanie and interlaced their fingers, resting their joined hands on the happy little girl.

Ianto realized at that moment that while he wouldn't give up on having a child, he was not a failure. What Jack had told him about Stephanie was true. He felt complete at that moment as he relaxed in the bed with his lifemate and the daughter they both created.

He also realized something else at the same time Jack had. He felt it from Jack, and knew Jack was aware they were both feeling it. As they gazed at their baby girl, they knew she felt it too.

The night before while they made love, Jack thought he was a half of the whole, with Ianto being the other half. That morning he knew he was a third. It was him, Ianto and Stephanie that made the whole.

The two men each kissed a chubby cheek of the little girl between then, and then lifted their heads so they could share a tender, loving kiss.

Stephanie watched, with a great big smile and finally clapped her hands. "YAY!" she exclaimed. "Daddy and Taddy love each other!"

Jack and Ianto grinned and smiled down at her. "Yep, that we do, sweet pea," Ianto agreed.

"Oh definitely," Jack said.

"YAY!" Stephanie repeated happily.

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

Jack and Seleny entered the Hub with Stephanie between them. They had gone out on the lunch run. They noticed Ianto sitting on the couch, grinning like an idiot. Olivia was at her desk, looking pretty pleased with herself.

"What's going on here?" Jack asked, looking amused as Stephanie ran off to greet her Tad. "Stef, no running!" He let out a sigh and shook his head.

Stephanie skidded to a stop, looking back to Jack. "Sorry, Daddy." She attempted to take long, quick steps toward Ianto.

Jack covered his hand to keep himself from busting out in laughter.

Ianto, not having the advantage of hiding, since he was in direct sight of his daughter, could not help his laugh as he held his arms out. Stephanie crawled onto his lap and gave him a sloppy kiss, hugging her. "We have lunch, Taddy!" she exclaimed.

"Really? Well, thank you, sweetheart." Ianto kissed her forehead, running his fingers through her hair. "Why don't we have lunch in the hot house today? Aunt Seleny will help you set up. Won't you, Sel?"

"Wha?" Seleny asked, removing her jacket.

Allan got up from his chair. "Trenton is already up there setting up a table. Here, I'll give you and the little lady a hand. Come along, Stephanie."

"I'll help too," Jack started to offer.

"Actually Jack, I need to speak to you. In your office."

Jack looked curious, but gave Seleny a grin. "I guess I'm in trouble with my better half for something. Go along and we'll join you in a few."

Ianto kissed Stephanie. "Move along, Stef. Surprise Daddy and I with setting up our food on the table."

"YAY surprise!" Stephanie exclaimed. She kissed Ianto and climbed down from his lap, going over to Seleny and Allan. She grabbed onto Allan's free hand, dragging him with her. "Come along, we have to make a pretty table for Daddy and Taddy."

Allan laughed fondly at the child he saw as a niece. "I hope I could have one of those some day," he said to Seleny as Olivia joined them. "Then again, having another whirlwind like this tyke just might tire us all out."

Olivia gave Allan an odd smile. "Yeah, huh?" She gave Seleny a quick peek on her cheek. "Then again, it might be fun."

"It could just be Jack and Ianto's DNA," Seleny commented. "Maybe the rest of us would have children more subdued."

Olivia looked at her lover and shook her head. "You? Subdued? I know you, Sel. And I've heard enough about your mother and I know your Tad. Face it, should you have children, your DNA alone would create a devil spawn."

Allan laughed. "I heard that's what Jack and Ianto used to call you when you were younger."

"Shut up, Allan," Seleny pouted.

Olivia and Allan laughed, while Stephanie still lead them toward the hothouse.

Meanwhile Jack had followed Ianto into his office. Ianto closed the door and lead Jack to the couch, pushing Jack slightly to sit. Jack managed to latch an arm around Ianto's waist, making him to sit with him.

"Okay, what's going on?" Jack asked.

Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack and kissed him passionately, pressing Jack back against the couch.

When Ianto allowed them to come up for air, Jack gasped. "Wow! I take it from a kiss like that, I'm not in trouble."

"Quite the opposite, Jack." Ianto was beaming.

"What's up?" Jack asked, tracing Ianto's face with a finger.

"It happened!" Ianto exclaimed.

"What happened?" Jack asked, studying Ianto.

"Congratulations, Daddy," Ianto tried again.

"Okay… I'm a little lost, Ianto."

Ianto kissed Jack again, and still hugging him, with his face close to Jack's he managed to roll his eyes more in habit than exasperation. "Jack, I'm pregnant."

Jack froze for a moment, his eyes wide. "What? Are you certain?"

Ianto nodded. "Yep! Olivia says that I'm about 10 weeks pregnant."

"You're joking me?" Jack's eyes were still wide.

"Not joking. Serious. Totally serious."

"You're pregnant?" At Ianto's nod, while he rolled his eyes, Jack started to grin. "That's brilliant, Ianto!" He pulled his partner closer, kissing him. "I love you, Ianto."

"I love you too, Jack. Now I can really show you how much."

"You already have, but now…." Jack's grin grew into a bright smile. "We need to celebrate."

"That's why we're having lunch in the hothouse, even if Olivia is the only one to know why a table for us to eat on is being set up."

"I agree, but I mean a real celebration. Me and you. Dinner at a place of your choosing. Maybe Seleny and Olivia will put up with Stef for a few hours."

"I like the idea of a special dinner, but before we leave her with Sel and Livvy, maybe we should also do something special with Stef. That way she knows she's not being pushed aside for the new baby."

"Of course. You have a point there. Hopefully the Rift will stay quiet today. When we call it a day, we'll ask Stef what she wants to do. Then later tonight, we'll drop her off with her two favorite aunts."

"That's a plan. Now kiss me again, and then we should join the others and tell them our news over lunch." Ianto smiled lovingly at Jack.

Jack pulled Ianto close, holding him tightly as they kissed. The kiss lasted longer than they intended. They pulled apart, breathing heavily, grinning at each other. Ianto stood and held his hand out to Jack. "Come along, Jack."

"Yeah. Better leave now, or we won't be leaving for a while." He grinned at Ianto.

They left Jack's office holding hands. "I knew we were trying too hard," Jack said as they sauntered across the Hub.

"Olivia agrees. But she also thinks it had to do with our reconnecting. You were right about something else, Jack. Our just having sex just for the sake of getting me pregnant was the problem."

"Oh?"

Ianto nodded. "Yep. I was stupid and forget something important about my father's race."

"What's that?" Jack stopped them and turned to face Ianto. He snaked one arm around Ianto's waist, while his other hand rested on Ianto's abdomen. His breath caught in his throat and he started to grin.

"Pregnancy is really a result of love on Zaithfa. There aren't any unwanted pregnancies. All children are conceived through love – a love that is lasting. Of course there's fooling around and experimenting on that world. But only when two people who are bonded – which is equal to being married – make love with not only their bodies, but their souls and minds as well, pregnancy occurs. It causes the right chemicals to produce an egg that's ready to be fertilized. When we lost our connection, I lost all chances of getting pregnant. I should have realized that long ago. I'm such an idiot."

Jack leaned closer, with one arm still around Ianto's waist and the other touching his abdomen. "Live and learn," Jack commented. "And like I told Stephanie, we're stronger because of it. It's all in the past now, Ianto. We're in the present." His fingers moved slightly, his face reflecting his awe. "And you're pregnant now." He tenderly kissed Ianto. "Thank you."

Ianto put both his arms around Jack's waist. "Thank you, Jack. It was your love that enabled this to happen."

"Our love, Ianto. Together. As always."

"Indeed." And they kissed once again before heading up to the hothouse.

They laughed when they noticed Stephanie stood against the glass window, staring down watching her daddies, her face pressed against the glass.

"Are you sure we really want another one of those?" Jack laughed, his voice filled with love for their daughter.

"Oh, I think we might survive," Ianto commented.

"Yeah. Even if we don't, it'll be worth it." Jack lifted Ianto's hand that he held and kissed it. "You are worth it."

Ianto's eyes were glittering with tears of happiness as they entered the hothouse. Together, they made the appropriate noises of pleasure at how Stephanie had directed the others to set up the table for their lunch. Jack picked up the little girl, holding her close in one arm, while holding Ianto's hand.

Together the happy, but expanding family joined their teammates and friends at the table to share their happy news.

~FIN~


End file.
